Rise in Recurring Jobless Claims Signals Higher US Unemployment
Recurring applications for US jobless benefits jumped to the highest level since November 2021, possibly presaging a rise in the unemployment rate this month.
Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, increased by 26,000 to 1.92 million in the week ended May 17. That exceeded the median forecast of 1.89 million in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The period includes the reference week for the government's employment report for the month of May, which is due June 6.
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Forbes
8 minutes ago
- Forbes
CEO Says Peloton Not For Sale As Peloton Repowered Marketplace Debuts
Peloton stock soared during the pandemic but its share price has been downhill ever since. (Photo by ... More) Peloton has launched an equipment and accessories resale marketplace called Peloton Repowered, as the company boss also slapped a 'not for sale' sign over the business. Speaking at a Bloomberg event today, CEO Peter Stern insisted that he had not been brought in to find a buyer for the company but instead is looking to capitalize on new and existing customers with a range of initiatives, including the growing trend towards pre-used merchandise. Initially eligible for sellers located in the Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C. metro areas, the marketplace will then expand nationally in the coming months and has been created to connect buyers and sellers in the same metro area, Peloton said. In its testing phase it will launch in beta and until there is enough inventory will only allow users to list items, with the facility to buy and sell to be introduced in the next few weeks. The platform will enable members to post their used Peloton equipment and gear and set a price with help from a generative AI tool, the company said, although sellers will have the final say on how much to list the item for. Peloton Repowered sellers will receive 70% of the sale price and a discount on new Peloton workout equipment, adding to the discounted products it sells, which already include refurbished equipment, offering a peer-to-peer pre-owned option. The sellers' discount on new Peloton equipment will range from around $200 to $600, depending on what type of new equipment is purchased, while Peloton Repowered buyers will receive a reduced used activation fee for the equipment they purchase at $45, which compares with its typical used equipment activation fee of $95. Buyers will be able to see the equipment's history on the listing and have the option to get the item delivered for an extra fee, Peloton said. The Peloton Repowered platform works through the Archive platform, which has worked with fashion brands including The North Face, Dr. Martens and New Balance and Peloton said previously it had started to see a 'meaningful increase' in the number of new members who bought used Bikes or Treads from peer-to-peer markets such as Facebook Marketplace. The launch of Peloton's new resale platform follows third-quarter earnings released last month that showed a 13% year-on-year fall in revenue to $624 million and a wider-than-expected net loss of nearly $48 million. Peloton ended the third quarter with 2.9 million paid fitness subscribers, down 6% from a year prior. Peter Stern, president and CEO of Peloton, during the Bloomberg Tech conference in San ... More Franciscoyesterday. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg Peloton's stock value is a fraction of the peak in 2021, when enforced pandemic lockdowns led to a surge in home exercise and rocketing equipment and subscription sales. CEO Peter Stern – who was co-founder of Apple Fitness+ – took the helm in January and been trying to revamp the company, although he has so far been unable to reverse value declines which have seen the stock price fall by over a fifth since the start of the year. Speaking at a Bloomberg event yesterday, Stern stressed that he had no intention of selling the company as he reaffirmed his commitment to reviving the bike and running workouts firm and keeping it "a standalone company." "I was not hired to sell this company,' he said. "I was hired to bring this company back to growth, reinvigorate it, and that is happening." He said that Peloton must evolve into a more personalized coach powered by AI, while expanding its reach through retail, international markets, and travel, including a stronger presence in hotel gyms. The company has implemented several initiatives to steady the business, including 15% job cuts announced last year and shifting its focus to subscription sales over hardware. The company last month also initiated a pricing strategy to offer discounted equipment rates for eligible educators, healthcare workers, first responders and military personnel in the U.S. Peloton Repowered also seems to play to Stern's assertion that the company must balance between hardware and software: "Our future is not to try to scale the app at the expense of that equipment business," he said
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Carmakers Use Stealth Price Hikes to Cope With Trump's Tariffs
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Some dealers, meanwhile, have decided to charge more for the cars already on their lots, knowing it will cost more to replace them. These stealth increases could help automakers cope with Trump's 25% levies on imported vehicles without risking his wrath, particularly once cars that landed in American ports after the tariffs were imposed finally start reaching showrooms this month. They'd all like to avoid the social-media fury he unleashed on Walmart Inc. (WMT) after the retail giant said the trade war had forced it to raise prices. But the auto industry's subtle price hikes are already having an effect. The average sale price for a new car jumped 2.5% in April, the steepest monthly increase in five years, according to the Kelley Blue Book car buying guide. The average reached $48,699, almost a record. Incentives, which once knocked 10% off the price, fell to 6.7%. Zero-percent financing deals — a key come-on in this age of high interest rates — dropped in April to their lowest rate since 2019, according to researcher Cox Automotive. And at some point, car buyers may balk. 'On the consumer side, they're seeing several thousand dollars of actual-experience price increase, whereas the factory is saying, 'No man, we didn't raise prices at all,'' said Morris Smith III, a Ford (F) dealer in Kansas. 'Stealth is a good word for it.' While the steps have helped car companies avoid outright price hikes until now, those are coming. Ford Motor Co. told dealers it will raise sticker prices as much as $2,000 on three models it builds in Mexico — the Maverick pickup, the Bronco Sport and the electric Mustang Mach-E. Japan's Subaru Corp. (FUJHY) is boosting prices $1,000 to $2,000 to help offset tariff costs, according to people familiar with the matter. Hyundai Motor Co. 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Since the 25% levies went into effect on April 3, dealers have been selling from a shrinking stockpile of pre-tariff cars. (There's an exemption for cars that comply with the terms of the US, Mexico and Canada free trade agreement, which only face an import tax on their non-American content.) That process is nearly done, and by late June, dealers will face the new reality of lots filled with cars that cost more to bring into the country. 'There's nothing they can do to prevent this from having an impact,' said Sean Tucker, editor of Kelley Blue Book. 'There's not a single cliff, but the date they run out of those pre-tariff cars, that's when you're going to see the most dramatic change.' Sales may suffer as a result. A recent survey from found that 65% of new car buyers would walk away if monthly payments rose just 5% in a market where car prices are already near historic highs. An Edmunds survey released Thursday found three-quarters of car buyers said tariffs would be a factor in their purchasing decisions. Shoppers are already not getting the deals that were commonplace just months ago. Take the Ford F-150 pickup, America's top-selling vehicle. Earlier this year, an F-150 could be had with a 1.9% interest rate on a 6-year loan, Smith, the Kansas dealer, said. Then, Ford only offered that rate for certain, higher-priced trim levels of the truck. Now, 1.9% financing is offered only on three-year loans, which are rare.'The dealers I'm talking to have every expectation that in the next 90 days to six months, there will be pretty significant price increases across the board,' Smith said, 'assuming something doesn't happen with the tariffs.' Some dealers are preparing for that day of reckoning by making as much money off their pre-tariff inventory as they can, charging over the sticker price. 'Dealers set final prices, and they're dealing with the knowledge that for every car they sell, it's going to cost them more to replace it than it used to,' Tucker said. Automakers might not just raise prices on the cars they import. They may choose to increase the costs of their more expensive, US-made models so the full weight of the tariffs doesn't fall on some of the cheaper vehicles they make overseas. General Motors Co. (GM), for example, imports more than 400,000 cars each year from its factories in South Korea, including the $20,500 Chevrolet Trax. 'GM doesn't necessarily have to raise the price of the Chevy Trax by 25% in order to pay a 25% tariff on the Chevy Trax, because those buyers are the most price-sensitive,' Tucker said. 'So maybe instead, you bump up the price of the Silverado pickup in order to pay the tariff on the Trax. But GM isn't going to put that on a window sticker.' Automakers may also drop the most affordable trims of their vehicles. Stellantis NV (STLA (STLA) decided to pause making the entry-level version of its electric muscle car, the Charger Daytona R/T, because of tariff risks, the company confirmed in May. The R/T, built at an assembly plant in Windsor, Canada, currently starts at $59,595, while the more powerful Scat Pack trim starts at $73,190. Cox forecasts tariffs could raise the price on imported cars by 10% to 15%, further exacerbating an affordability crisis. But those increases aren't likely to come in big chunks, instead phasing in slowly and quietly so as not to scare off customers, said Erin Keating, Cox's senior director of economics and industry insights. Still, some potential buyers will walk away. Domestic sales could fall from 16 million in 2024 to 15.6 million this year, according to Cox. The outlook from consumer analysis company J.D. Power is even bleaker, with tariffs predicted to cut US auto sales by about 1.1 million vehicles annually, or roughly 8%. Automakers are scaling back production in anticipation. More than a half-million fewer cars will be built in North America this year than in 2024, according to researcher AutoForecast Solutions. 'By enacting tariffs on Canadian and Mexican parts and vehicles, it slows the whole workings of this North American machine making vehicles,' said Sam Fiorani, AutoForecast's vice president of global vehicle forecasting. 'The vehicles that are being built will cost more, raising the price of vehicles and lowering the demand for them. It's all interconnected.' —With assistance from Chester Dawson. Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert Wants to Donate His Billions—and Walk Again YouTube Is Swallowing TV Whole, and It's Coming for the Sitcom Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce Is Elon Musk's Political Capital Spent? Trump Considers Deporting Migrants to Rwanda After the UK Decides Not To ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. 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Bloomberg
12 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Bloomberg: The China Show 06/06/2025
'Bloomberg: The China Show' is your definitive source for news and analysis on the world's second-biggest economy. From politics and policy to tech and trends, Annabelle Droulers and Avril Hong give global investors unique insight, delivering in-depth discussions with the newsmakers who matter. (Source: Bloomberg)
